A Giant Bouncy Ball Installation in Hong Kong by Snarkitecture

New York-based design studio Snarkitecture has created an abstract interactive playground, full of countless giant bouncy balls, by the water in Hong Kong‘s Harbour City shopping district.

Snarkitecture created the installation ‘Bounce’ to explore the boundaries between architecture and art. The group concentrated on chunks to get their most recent work because the sphere isn’t a shape commonly found in architecture.

“It’s a kind you do not typically see. Spheres are also a direct signifier of play — visitors know they are encouraged to play within Bounce,” said Olivia Colson, studio manager of Snarkitecture

Participants in the outside installation are encouraged to roll, toss or bounce the balls. The structure is a cage structure created from a string of white steel frames placed apart at a width through which the balls can’t escape.

“Although they are free-floating items, the quantity of spheres creates a landscape with thickness, which visitors have to wade through to reach the other end of the setup,” Colson continued.

Visitors may throw the balls on a translucent mesh elevated above their heads to make a field of moving silhouettes since the balls roll towards the middle of the mesh and float back to the ground by means of a hole in its center.

The installation was built locally off-site, and tested, prior to being dismantled and reassembled at Harbour City.

“The use of white is largely about reduction or simplification. Visitors are more aware of the surroundings and total experience if they are not distracted by an abundance of texture or color,” said Colson. “When people enter an environment which concentrates on a single palette, material or gesture, although that distance may reference familiar elements, it is a whole transformation from everyday life,” she continued.

The studio expects that the visitors themselves will offer the color to bring the installation to life.

“The use of white is mainly about reduction or simplification. Visitors are more conscious of the environment and total experience if they are not distracted by an abundance of texture or color,” said Colson. “When people enter an environment which concentrates on a single palette, material or gesture, although that distance might reference recognizable elements, it’s a whole transformation from everyday life,” she continued.

The studio hopes that the visitors themselves will offer the color to bring the setup to life. Snarkitecture’s outdoor installation accompanies an indoor display at Gallery by the Harbour nearby, of white and silver spheres that fill up the gallery area. Both the gallery and Snarkitecture installations opened on 10 August 2018, and are on view till 2 September.